How To Catch Crawfish

Before finding out how to catch a crawfish, you must first know what it is and where it is from.

A crawfish is a crustacean that is closely related to a lobster, but smaller in appearance, and live in fresh water. They have several Louisiana crawfish species but no matter what kind they are, crawfish in general are very tasty. Louisiana has been famous for its crawfish dishes.

Tips for Catching Crawfish

Look for Shallow Ponds

In catching a crawfish, the first thing that you must do is to look for a pond that has shallow, slow-moving water. Crawfish survive and grow in these types of body of water. They are usually found hiding behind rocks, grasses or plants as crawfish loves to have their privacy. However, you must also know that if the body of water is too cold, chances are that you wouldn’t find them there. You can do test traps first to determine whether the body of water has a good population of crawfish or not.

Choose Crawfish Traps

There are several types of traps that you can choose from. You can try a few types and figure out which one would work best for you. One guarantee is that all crawfish traps in the market would work depending on how well you know how to use them. You can also create your own trap if you feel like being creative.

Pick Your Bait

The second most important thing to do is to prepare your bait. Having the most effective bait could make all the difference in catching small crawfish per trap to bigger and heavier crawfish per trap. But you must know that crawfish choose the feeds that they eat. Stick to fresh fish heads, guts or whole small fish, and things could never go wrong especially if you would be using oily fish such as salmon or herring. Others use store-bought baits and they are also effective; moreover, they are less messy to use.

Setup Your Crawfish Bait and Trap

Place the bait in the trap to thaw out in a period of time so that the smell would spread out onto the trap. This will lure and make the crawfish look for the scent of the oil of the fish that has spread out.

The next thing to do is to set-up your trap. Do not just throw your trap into the water. It’s best to set-up your traps in the water where there are grasses, rocks or plants where crawfish could be hiding from their predators. Make sure to place the baits securely into the traps before you put the traps in place. You can also use a boat if you have several traps with you.

Once you have set your traps, you must check them from time to time if you already have a catch. If you have good bait, expect to have a good-sized catch. You can place your catch in sacks or containers before you put your traps back in place to catch more crawfish. It would be best to put back small crawfish into the water for your next harvest.